Newman rules out post-election backflips

Daniel Hurst

Queensland's Liberal National Party leader Campbell Newman has promised he won't use a post-election budget review to walk away from any of his spending commitments.

Mr Newman, launching a big promotional “LNP pledge trailer” in Brisbane, also dismissed the government's claims that he had so far racked up $5 billion in promises but did not elaborate on what the party's running total was.

The comments came during a media conference at Eagle Farm, in which Mr Newman defended the substance behind his pledge on Tuesday to cut employment from 5.8 to 4 per cent over six years, and nominated 5 per cent as a goal for the end of his first term in office.

Treasurer Andrew Fraser immediately pounced on the 5 per cent interim target for 2015, saying it was in line with the official Queensland Treasury projections that had already been published under the current Labor government.

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Mr Newman today also backed calls for the LNP to increase its share of female candidates and labelled former Labor premier Peter Beattie a better leader than successor Anna Bligh.

Mr Newman, who opinion polls suggest is on track to win government at the looming election, has previously declared he would commission a financial audit if the LNP won office because he did not trust the state budget and wanted to know “the true state of the state's finances”.

Mr Fraser last week argued the audit was a “ruse by the LNP to dump every single election promise they make”.

Asked today whether he would rule out axing promises on the basis the state's books were worse than expected, Mr Newman said he did.

“I do [rule that out], yes I do, and the reason that I particularly can do that is that as we go through the campaign the government is going to go around the state making financial commitments everywhere ... we are not going to do that,” he said.

“My message to Queenslanders is we do not have the money.

“We're not going to run around Queensland making irresponsible promises.

“We won't put ourselves in a position that the Labor party are right now of having to say it's worse than we thought.

“From our perspective all our promises are costed, they'll all be funded.”

Mr Newman brushed off the government's assertion that the LNP had made $5 billion in promises so far, saying Mr Fraser could not be trusted, but would not say what the LNP's spending subtotal was.

He said the full costings would be released during the formal election campaign. Mr Newman last month told brisbanetimes.com.au the convention had always been to release the costings “prior to the election, a few days out”.

Today's media conference was the first time Mr Newman had faced the media after his Tuesday announcement that he would aim to cut the state's jobless rate to 4 per cent over six years, or two terms in office, by creating 420,000 new jobs.

Mr Newman told reporters he would aim towards cutting unemployment to 5 per cent by the end of an LNP government's first three-year term in office.

Mr Newman said the LNP had been releasing industry-specific policies as part of its plans to grow a strong four-pillar economy based on construction, resources, agriculture and tourism.

Mr Newman declined to directly say whether he would have failed if unemployment had not fallen to 4 per cent after six years in office, saying it would be up to voters to assess his performance against the target.

“If we get to 4.3 per cent, maybe they [voters] will be more charitable,” he said.

“I'm going to work every single day, I'm going to fight like hell to achieve the target.”

Mr Newman declined to elaborate on the way in which the party had calculated that the 4 per cent target would require 420,000 new jobs, saying the raw number of jobs was designed to give people “an indication of the magnitude” of the task ahead of an LNP government.

“I'm telling you the target is 4 per cent,” he said.

Mr Fraser said the 5-per-cent-after-three-years target matched Queensland Treasury's projections published in the State Budget last June.

“Campbell Newman's so-called jobs target is dead in the water because it was nothing more than a stunt in the first place,” Mr Fraser said in a statement.

Mr Fraser said latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed 1100 jobs were created in Queensland in December, more than any other state that month.

He said the government was still 10,500 jobs short of its 2009 election pledge to create 100,000 positions in its three-year term in office, as the ABS had revised its own data for previous months.

The jobless rate, seasonally adjusted, fell in Queensland from 5.7 per cent in November to 5.4 per cent in December. LNP treasury spokesman Tim Nicholls said Queensland's 5.6 per cent trend rate was still the worst in mainland Australia.

Meanwhile, Mr Newman backed calls for more female representation following the preselection of solicitor Cameron Caldwell to run against Labor's Peta-Kaye Croft in Broadwater on the Gold Coast.

According to a Gold Coast Bulletin report today, LNP president Bruce McIver “thwarted Mr Newman's wishes for a strong, female candidate” to run in the seat.

The rapid preselection came after Richard Towson stood down over a drink driving charge.

Mr Newman said today the LNP was a democracy and not the “plaything” of him or the party leadership and it was up to members to preselect candidates, but voiced his support for more female representation.

“I accept that criticism and it's something I have talked to the president and senior office bearers about,” he said.

“When I was in BCC [Brisbane City Council] I was proud we had a lot of women both on the backbench and on the frontbench.”

Mr Newman also said he believed Mr Beattie, with whom the former lord mayor worked closely, had been a better premier than Ms Bligh.

“That's my view, yes,” he said.

Mr Newman said there were “many things he did that I admire”.

“I liked the way that his government had a vision,” he said, pointing to the 'smart state' strategy.

A state election is due by March, but could technically be held as late as June.

Premier Anna Bligh said today she would wait until after a key report on overhauling Queensland Health was presented to Monday's cabinet meeting before calling the election.

22 comments so far

He said the full costings would be released during the formal election campaign ...... Newman ... I though he had declared his election campaigning was game on ..... I do [rule that out], yes I do, and the reason that I particularly can do that is that as we go through the campaign the government is going to go around the state making financial commitments everywhere ... we are not going to do that .... Newman ....... what about the money for every schoolchild in Queensland .... what about the money for the racing industry .... Newman wants more female representation in the LNP ha ha ha ... but it appears the members don\'t ha ha .... Newman points to the BCC ... before he quit ... as a place where the LNP has many elected officials .... but of course they were Liberals and there before Newman ... except for Councillor Johnston who went against Newman in support of her ratepayers and didn\'t she just cop a bucketing from Newmans council.

Commenter

John Fraser

Location

Queensland

Date and time

January 19, 2012, 12:44PM

Has John Fraser ever seen a non ALP politican or policy he liked? For such a verbose person perhaps it is time he realised his musings and constant attacks of non ALP figures now cause amusement.

Commenter

Susan

Location

Kedron

Date and time

January 19, 2012, 2:19PM

@Susan ... gee thanks Susan 2 personal attacks in the one day. Gotta tell you there were many John Howard policies that I liked and that is probably why I continually voted for him. Having met Newman on more then a few occasions and seen at first hand how impotent he is in the dictatorial misogynistic LNP heirachy I think I am admirably placed to Comment on non ALP politicians .... of course if you demonstrate your credentials and they prove to be better then mine ... well I will do a Sir Walter Raleigh and bow to your greater wisdom. In the meantime try to cheer up and not be quite so personnel .... after all I am not the one running for Office in Queensland.

Commenter

John Fraser

Location

Queensland

Date and time

January 19, 2012, 3:40PM

I\'d like to know how Newman plans to reduce unemployment to 4% by creating 420,000 jobs when the current 5.8% unemployment represents 144,000 people. Reducing to 4% means only 44,700 of the 144,000 unemployed Queenslanders would get a job and the other 375,000 would have to be imported from other states or overseas.

Commenter

Meanwhile

Location

in the real world

Date and time

January 19, 2012, 12:59PM

Oh gee, you pwomise mistah pwemier? Gosh of golly of gee, thanks! Unlike every other politician who tells us that they\'ll but the spending they promised, prior to being elected huh? Fine. show us your entire budget.

Commenter

Raida

Location

chewing salty razors?

Date and time

January 19, 2012, 1:08PM

Meeting budget promises in a gloomy economic climate is simple, raise taxes, cut current spending, or sell assets. Newman claims he wont backflip on costly promises. So, the options are: * a raft of new/higher taxes!!! * slash the public sector!!! Or, does it mean he\'ll be selling the farm to pay for it all? Mmmmm!!!! And, the spruick date hasn\'t even been announced. Cheers

Commenter

Dalliance

Date and time

January 19, 2012, 1:50PM

At least Newman has a vision and a plan for Queensland. Bligh and Fraser only have a plan to get themselves re-elected. Time for a change....

Commenter

Deb

Location

The Gap

Date and time

January 19, 2012, 1:56PM

What vision? What plan? All he has done is recycle Peter Beattie's old election promises.

Commenter

DC

Location

Brisbane

Date and time

January 19, 2012, 5:38PM

You mean like the way you promised to save the regent from being demolished for an office block, and after the election you approved it? Yes Campbell, I believe you.

Commenter

resting in pieces

Location

Elizabeth St

Date and time

January 19, 2012, 2:00PM

Don't forget Campbell Newman's promise to resign if Brisbane rates went up more than the CPI. They did - he didn't.

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